If ever a moment defined the joy and frustration of supporting Scottish international football it was probably Archie Gemmill’s World Cup goal against the Netherlands. “That” goal, in the sixty-eighth minute of their final Group 4 match played in Mendoza, Argentina, on 11 June 1978. By then, after all the hype and euphoria about being […]
Tag: World Cup
Argentina here we come!
From the moment Kenny Dalglish’s head met Martin Buchan’s cross to score the second in Scotland’s last World Cup qualifier at Anfield in October 1977 there was fervent optimism that the national team was going to do something special in the coming World Cup in Argentina. Unremarkable results in the British Home Championship did […]
Scotland’s football hit parade
“A football compendium” edited by Peter J. Seddon and published by the British Library in 1999 is one of the great football reference works and is available for consultation in our Reading Room. Over nearly 900 pages it lists all books or magazines published about football in the UK and Ireland up to the […]
Bobby Moore’s 1966 autobiography was written by a Scotsman
As it is the 50th anniversary of England winning the World Cup in 1966 we thought we would highlight a Scottish literary connection to England’s triumph. England Captain Bobby Moore’s autobiography “My soccer story” was ghost written by a Scotsman who would go onto to become a Booker Prize shortlisted author and be involved in […]
African soccerscapes: how a continent changes the world’s game
(Photo credit: Hurst & Co.) (Image above shows cover image of the book which is the title, African soundscapes: how a continent changed the world’s game, and images of stamps representing African soccer players) As evidenced by this years World Cup, Africa has a passion for soccerball. Soccer (or football) is the most popular sport […]